Concessionaires invested $18.4B in Mozambican hydrocarbons over five years
DW (File photo)
The chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Human Rights and Legality of the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique said yesterday that the body would approve a law obliging the extractive industry to provide more benefits to the country.
Speaking to the media at a conference on “The challenges of governance of the extractive sector in Mozambique”, promoted by Civic Coalition on the Extractive Industry yesterday, Edson Macuácuá said that the Assembly of the Republic would work for a more advantageous law for Mozambique in the exploitation of natural resources.
“The ongoing debate surrounding the proposed Local Content Law is primarily aimed at bringing more benefits and more gains to Mozambicans,” Macuácuá said.
The law, he continued, would allow greater participation and linkage between the Mozambican private sector and the multinationals involved in the exploitation of natural resources.
“Greater involvement of the Mozambican private sector in the exploitation of business opportunities generated in the extractive industry will create more jobs for Mozambicans,” he said.
Aida Salomão, the executive director of the Centro Terra Viva (CTV), a Mozambican civil society organisation, said that state institutions should be better prepared to exercise greater control and regulation of extractive activity to ensure more benefits for the country.
“We can prevent natural resources from becoming a curse by ensuring that the state is properly prepared and organised,” she said.
The state, she continued, must exercise effective control over the exploitation of natural resources, equipping itself with the capacity to evaluate existing resources.
“State institutions must be adequately prepared to evaluate the resources we have and make the decision about which resources to exploit and when,” she added.
The CTV executive director urged companies involved in the extractive sector to commit to generating greater gains for communities living in the areas in which they operate.
“Companies should be aware of their role in making the exploitation of natural resources economically, socially and environmentally sound,” she said.
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